To the left is a photo of a few slices of home-made, whole-wheat bread.  A small amount of rye flour added to whole-wheat flour yields a bread that can be sliced very thin. Along with this bread recipe are instructions on how to use this dough in different ways--Raisin Bread, Honey Buns (pictured) and Dinner Rolls.  The Honey Buns have raisins, pecans, honey and cinnamon--yummy!

Bread baking is an art.  It takes time to understand how the dough works and make adjustments based upon humidity and room temperature.  And, finding that ideal place for bread to rise can also be a challenge.  Gas ranges used to make ideal resting places but most newer gas ranges do not have pilot lights that are constantly lit.  Creating a warm place with a heating pad is an option.  Another option is a modern bread making machine.

A little known secret to help a heavy loaf of whole-wheat bread rise evenly is to score the top with a sharp knife before the last rise.  In the photo you can see the score at the top center that helped formed an evenly shaped loaf.  Both loaves pictured were baked in a range oven, not a bread machine.

If you are new to the art of bread baking watch several baking videos on the Internet before getting started.  Those videos will give you an overview of the many ways to achieve success.  And, if at first you don't succeed, make an ugly loaf of bread into croutons for your salad.